updated 02:50 pm EDT, Fri October 21, 2011

Cinematographer used iPhone video in new movie

In an interview with IFTN, cinematographer Seamus McGarvey revealed that he used the iPhone to take some shots for the upcoming Hollywood movie The Avengers. The resulting shots are also in the trailer for the movie. The revelation is a stark contrast to the movie's $220 million budget.

"The beauty of photography or cinema is that you make every choice based on the content at hand," said McGarvey. "On The Avengers, I did a couple of shots on the iPhone and they are in the movie. In fact, they are in the trailer! I understand that sometimes there is no choice and you have to go for the cheapest option, but if you are limited for choice, you can still make poignant decisions that will effect the look of the film."

Exactly which scenes were shot with the iPhone, or which model of the Apple smartphone was used, isn't being revealed. The trailer is embedded below, and it's safe to assume the latest iPhone 4S with its 1080p camera wasn't used, as it wasn't yet out at the time of the shoot.

hard to believe

I find that hard to believe. In major Hollywood films, even shots that are supposed to represent relatively low-quality home video or surveillance video, is almost always shot on film and then treated/degraded in post-production to get that grainy, low-res look.